Houston Astros Franchise Legend 'Makes Sense' for NL East Team in FA

Could the Houston Astros lose their star?

Erik Williams-Imagn Images

When it comes to the offseason for the Houston Astros this winter, there is one very large elephant in the room with regards to how things are going to play out.

The impending free agency decision of franchise cornerstone third baseman Alex Bregman looms over everything. How much money the team has/is willing to spend, what the 2025 offense looks like, whether or not they lose yet another piece of the core that has been so dominant over the last seven years, and all of this hinging on what kind of money the team is willing to offer the star.

There can certainly be a case made that the team would be better off letting Bregman walk. After all, they did the same to Gerrit Cole, George Springer, and Carlos Correa and still won a World Series in 2022. But along with Justin Verlander - who is also likely to be gone this winter - the core of the better part of the last decade of success is starting to disappear. If Bregman were to leave Houston, he would certainly have plenty of suitors. One of those suitors could be the Philadelphia Phillies provided they are parting ways with Alec Bohm. Joe Edinger of The Good Phight thinks that Bregman and Philadelphia could be a match that makes sense.

"Bregman, another [Scott] Boras client, is projected by Spotrac to be in line for a contract of around 4 years and $120M," Edinger wrote. "That would take him through his age 34 season at $30M a season. That would also put the Phillies right up to the $281M draft penalty threshold with little to no room for other moves."

If Bregman does in fact land the $30 million annual deal that some have reported he could get, it would be hard to blame Astros management for passing. He has already started to regress as Edinger pointed out, and though he got hot over the summer, it still finished in a OPS that was the lowest of his career. Ultimately, while fans and teammates would love to have Bregman back, it's possible the numbers just don't work out that way.

If that's the case, look for the team Houston dispatched in the 2022 World Series to be a player here.